It is common practice to add cream for the refinement of meals in order to improve their taste and creaminess. While a certain ropiness is desired, substantial thickening should not occur. By the addition of cream, a binding effect is not achieved. In contrast, the addition of cream can be noticed in the color by its whitening power.
The invention is based on the need to produce a portioned product capable of storage at room temperature, which can serve as an equivalent substitute for the addition of cream for refining hot meals. The functions of cream, such as whitening power, sensation in the mouth, and taste, should be met. Moreover, the product must be readily dispersible and easy to handle.
Cream powder alone, which is commercially available, is not suitable for this purpose. It has a taste of dried milk, and when it is formed into cubes under pressure it can no longer be evenly dispersed.
From the German published patent application 23 26 114 corresponding to British Patent No. 1417952, a paste-like dried cream product is known, which contains spray dried butter powder, butter fat and/or animal or vegetable fats, starch, sodium caseinate and optionally vegetable binding agents and/or gelatin as main constituents. This known product contains 20 to 40 parts by weight of starch and is therefore strongly binding and not suitable as a cream substitute.
It is an object of the present invention to produce a portioned product capable of storage at room temperature which can serve as an equivalent substitute for the addition of cream for refining hot meals.
It is another object of the present invention that the cream substitute fulfill the functions of cream as to its whitening power, sensation in the mouth, and taste.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a cream substitute that is readily dispersible and easy to handle.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a cream substitute that does not have a thickening effect on the consistency of the food product to which it is added.